Molding toy



Dec. 20, 1960 N. T. MCFARLAND 2,964,791

MOLDING TOY Filed May 1, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 \IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII l II/////AIIMII\ w" '"rri-"v-wmmxm INVENTOR.

United States Patent 2,964,791 MOLDING TOY Norman T. McFarland, NorthAurora, lll., assignoito Marvin I. Glass, Chicago, Ill.

Filed May 1, 1957, ser. No. 656,235

3 Claims. or. 18-42 The present invention generally relates to a moldingtoy and more particularly to'a toy which can be simply operated by achild to mold fanciful articles from a moldable material.

Various molding toys have been constructed to mold articles resemblinganimals, soldiers, Indians, cowboys and other fanciful objects. Thepresent invention comprises a simple, relatively inexpensive, easilyoperable molding toy which may be used to mold one or more articles froma moldable material, for example molding clay. The toy is preferablydesigned so that it may be used to make a variety of articles. It isalso designed to have a pleasing and attractive physical appearance.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is to providea novel, simply operated molding toy in which a variety of articles maybe molded, the toy being simple and inexpensive in construction andrugged and durable in use. It is also an object of the present inventionto provide a novel molding toy which has a pleasing and attractivephysical appearance.

Further objects of the present invention will be apparent from a studyof the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawingsof a preferred embodiment of the invention, of which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a molding toy in accordance with the presentinvention; 7

Figure 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially along line 2-2 ofFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the molding toy shown in Figure1, illustrating the mold members in open position with a lump of moldingclay positioned between the mold members; and

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the molding toy shown in Figure1, partially in section, illustrating the mold members in closedposition with a clay article being molded.

The toy mold 5, illustrated in the drawings, includes a lower moldmember 7 and an upper mold member 9. These mold members, 7 and 9, arecentrally and rotatably mountedon a short, vertically extending shaftmember l l which is supported at its lower end by a base member 13. Eachof the mold-members, 7 and 9, has a plurality of arcuately spacedforming sections or'cavities 21 therein. Each of theforming sections inthe lower mold member has a related forming section positioned directlyabove it in the upper mold member. The mold members, therefore, have aplurality of matching pairs of forming sections therein. The formingsections in each of the mold sections are usually cavities, however, theforming sections may have male portions projecting therefrom. The moldmembers are normally urged apart by springs 15. A feed means17,'mounte'd on the base member 13, is provided to deliver apredetermined amount 19 of moldable material between a pair of matchingforming sections 21 in the mold members. In order to move the moldmembers together against the force of the springs 15, to the. closedposition, a cam lever 23 is provided.

axis of the shaft member is maintained vertical.

.in a direction parallel to the axis of the shaft.

4 2,964,791 Patented Dec. 20, 1 960 The cam lever is pivotally mountedon the shaft member 11 and has a cam portion which acts against the topof the upper mold member 9 forcing the upper mold down into closedposition in contact with the lower mold membet 7. As the mold membersare moved together, by the action of the cam lever 23, they squeeze thelump of moldable material 19 positioned therebetween and the moldablematerial is forced to conform to the outline of the cavities in thecooperating mold members to form the article desired. The cam lever 23is also so designed that it may then be moved to permit the mold membersto be moved apart by the springs 15. With the mold members apart in openposition, the molded article may be removed from between the moldmembers.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the illustrated toy 5includes the lower mold member 7 and the upper mold member 9. Each ofthese mold members has a generally flat right cylindrical or disc-shapedoutline. Each of the mold members may be constructed of a single pieceof suitable material, such as, for example metal or plastic, or each ofthe mold members may be constructed as illustrated in the drawings so asto have an outer shell 25 and a mold insert member 27 which fits withinthe outer shell. Each of the mold insert members is secured within itsassociated outer shell 25 by any suitable means. For the sake ofsimplicity, the insert member preferably is constructed so that it fitstightly within the outer shell and is thus held in place by friction.The type of construction illustrated has an advantage in that the moldinsert members 27 may be easily removed from the outer shell andreplaced with other mold insert members which may have mold cavities orforming sections 21 therein which form articles difierent from thoseformed by the original mold insert members. This enables the toy 5 to beused to mold alarge variety of articles. The forming sections 21 inthese mold members may be designed so as to form various articles of thetype herein set forth. In Figure 1 a star and an Indian head areindicated. Each of the mold members, 7 and 9, has an opening in thecentral portion thereof so that they may be slidably fitted over theshaft member 11. The lower mold member 7 rests on the frusto-conicalbase member 13, and as hereinbefore mentioned, the shaft member 11 issupported by the base member so that the In order to aid in maintainingthe shaft member 11 upright and to more rigidly secure the shaft member11 in the base member 13 as well as to give support to the base andadded rigidity to the structure, the shaft member 11 has 'a base portion31 of larger diameter than the rest of the shaft 11. The lower end ofthe base portion 31 is level with the bottom of the toy and therefore itwill rest on the table or other platform on which the toy is placed.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the mold members, 7 and 9, are rotatablymounted on the shaft member 11 and these mold members may also slidealong the shaft 11 When these mold members 7 and 9 are rotated on theshaft 11 during the use of the toy, it is, of course, necessary thatthey rotate as a unit so that the forming section 21 of the lower moldmember remains directly below the related or associated forming section21 of the upper mold member. In order that the mold members 7 and 9rotate as a unit, the upper mold member is provided with a plurality ofvertical'sleeve members 33 secured therein. One end of each of thesleeve members is fitted flush with the upper surface of the upper moldmember 9 and the length of the sleeve member is preferably equal to thethickness of the mold member 9. The lower mold mem her 7 has a pluralityof vertically extending pins 35 secured therein which are adapted toslidably engage the in terior of the sleeve members 33 and arepositioned in the lower mold member 7 so as to register with the sleevesin the upper mold member 9. .When the upper mold member 9 is placed onthe shaft member 11 over the lower mold member 7, the mold members arepositioned relative to each other so that related forming sections 21 ofthese mold members are positioned directly above and below each other.In this position the vertical the vertical pins 35 register with thesleeve members 33 and the molds may be brought together with the pinsslidably engaging the interior of the sleeves 33. The pins 35 aredesigned with a sutficient length so that. the pins remain in engagementwith the associated sleeves throughout the movement of the mold membersto open and closed position. The sleeve and pin structure described ispreferred since the sleeve and pin mechanism not only maintains themolds 7 and 9 in relative position but the sleeve and pin mechanism alsoaids in vertically guiding the upper mold 9 down onto the lower mold '7.The mold members, 7 and 9, also have smallv recesses 53 therein leadingfrom the mold cavities to the outside of the molds. The reason for theserecesses will be explained hereinafter.

The mold members 7 and 9 are normally urged apart by the springs 15which are positioned about the sleeves 33 and vertical pins 35. Thesesprings 15 are under compression when the mold members are broughttogether to closed position and, therefore, when the cam lever 23 ismoved to permit the upper mold member 9 to move upwardly the compressionsprings 15 move the upper mold upwardly to open position.

When the mold members 7 and 9 are rotatably moved on the shaft member11, any one of the matching pairs of forming sections of the molds maybe brought into a specific position adjacent the feed means 17 so that alump of moldable material may be fed by the feed means between theadjacent pair of forming sections 21. The feed means 17 is positioned onan outwardly extending portion 29 of the base member 13. The feed means17 includes a stationary vertically extending spindle-like protrusionmember 41, a cup-like rotatable hub member 43 which is 'slidably fittedover the spindle 41 so that the hub 43 may rotate on the spindle 41 aswell as move vertically up and down, and a plurality of horizontallyextending relatively thin fingers 45 which are secured in a flangeportion 43a of the hub. In the illustrated structure, three of thesefingers 45 are illustrated, however, a lesser or greater number may beprovided. These fingers are of a sutficient length to reach into theforming portions 21 of the molds and since they are relatively long andthin, they are preferably fabricated from a strong material such assteel; however, other materials, for example plastics, may be used forthe fingers. The hub 43, may therefore, be rotated so as to bring theouter portion of each of the fingers 45 alternately into positionbetween the mold members 7 and 9.

In the operation of the molding toy a lump 19 of moldable material, suchas clay, is placed on an end portion of one of the fingers and the hub43 is rotated so as to position the lump on the finger 45 directlybetween a matching pair of forming sections 21 in the mold members. Adetent mechanism (not shown) may be provided on the feed means 17 toindicate when the hub 43 has been rotated a sufficient amount toposition a finger 45 in a specific position between the mold members.Any suitable type of detent mechanism may be used and it may be of thetype hereinafter described for use with the mold members. The moldablematerial is preferably one which is readily moldable at room temperatureand which will retain its shape after being removed from the mold.Examples of suitable molding materials are molding clay and some typesof waxes and resins. When the mold members are closed, a finger 45remains between the mold members 7 and 9 and after the mold members areseparated to open position the hub 43 and finger 45 should move upwardlyto lift the molded article from the lower mold so that the hub 43 maythen be rotated to bring the molded article out from between the moldmembers. It is, therefore, necessary that the hub 43 be movable in avertical direction as well as being rotatable on the spindle 41. Therotating movement enables the lump of clay to be brought between themold members by a simple turning of the hub 43 and the vertical movementenables the finger 45 between the molds and the hub 43 to which it isconnected to move downwardly on the spindle 41 as the mold 9 is moveddownwardly into contact with the lower mold '7. When the mold membersare again brought to open position after the article has been moldedtherein, the fingers 45 and the hub 43 to which they are connected mustmove vertically upward so as to bring the molded article between themold members so that upon revolving the hub 43 the molded article may beremoved from between the mold members. When the molded article isremoved from between the mold members, the molded article may be readilyremoved from the finger by merely sliding it therefrom.

To provide for the vertical movement of the hub member 43 and the fingerportions 45 on the spindle 41, a spring 47 is provided between the hub43 and spindle 4L This spring 47 normally urges the hub 43 and thespindle 41 apart. To prevent the hub 43 from being too easily removedfrom the spindle 41 and to aid in guiding the spindle 43 in its verticalmovement on the section 41, as well as to limit the upward verticalmotion of the hub 43 so that the fingers 45, when positioned between themold members in open position, are centered between the mold members, aguide shaft 49 is provided. The shaft 49 is fixed at its upper end tothe hub 43 and has a section 51 of greater diameter at the lower portionthereof to act as a stop to limit the upward travel of the hub 43.However, instead of an enlarged portion 51 other suitable means, forexample, a locking pin, could be provided in the shaft 49. Since afinger 45 remains between the mold members 7 and 9 and moves downwardlyas the upper mold member 9 is brought downward onto the lower moldmember 7, the mold members are preferably provided with the smallrecesses 53 which are substantially the same width and thickness as thefingers and extend from the mold cavities to the outside of the molds.This enables the mold members 7 and 9 to be brought directly intocontact with each other and not held apart by the thickness of a fingermember 45.

As the mold members 7 and 9 are rotated on the shaft 11 so that variousof the pairs of forming sections 21 are brought into position adjacentthe feed means 17, so that different articles may be formed, it ispreferred that some type of detent mechanism be provided to indicate theposition when the mold members have been rotated a sufiicient amount tobring a pair of forming sections of the mold members into correctposition. Any suitable type of restraining mechanism may be used. In thestructure indicated, the base member 13 is provided with a recessedportion 55 and a suitable biasing spring 57 and ball 59 are fittedwithin the recessed portion. The spring 57 normally urges the ball 59out of the recess so that the ball is in bearing relationship againstthe lower portion of the lower mold 7 which is resting on the basemember 13. The lower portion of the lower mold 7 is provided with aplurality of small, substantially hemispherical recesses 60, one foreach of forming sections 21 in the molds and these recesses are adaptedto receive a portion of the ball 59 as the recesses 60 are positionedover the ball 59. As the mold members 7 and 9 are rotated as a unit,therefore, the recesses 60 in the lower mold member are periodicallybrought into position over the recess 55 in the base member whereuponthe ball 59 partially enters the recess 60 and causes a slightrestraining to the rotating of the mold members 7 and 9. Thisrestraining action, however, is not reat enough to prevent the moldmembers 7 and 9 from being rotated further by merely turning the moldmembers with greater force.

To move the upper mold vertically downwardly against the force of thesprings 15 which urge the mold members apart, the cam lever 23 isprovided- The cam lever 23 has a bifurcated end 23a which is pivotallymounted on a pivot pin 61 which is secured in a narrowed upper portion11a of the shaft member 11. The cam lever 23 is provided with a camportion 63 on both of the arms of the bifurcated end 23a. A knob 65 isprovided on the cam lever 23 which is indicated as being threadedlyattached to the cam lever. The knob 65 is provided so that the cam lever23 may be easily grasped and pivoted about the pivot pin 61 from theposition indicated in Figure 2 by solid lines to the position indicatedby dotted lines. In the position of the lever indicated by solid lines,the cam portion 63 forces the mold members 7 and 9 together so as tomold articles from a lump of moldable material positioned between themold members. In this closed position, it may be noted that the camportion 63 of the lever 23 is pushing down on the upper surface of themold member 9 against the force of the springs 15 so as to bring themold member 9 into engagement with the lower mold 7. The part of the camlever which is pushing down on the upper surface of the upper moldmember 9 is substantially flat and the cam lever is therefore in asomewhat stable position and the cam lever may be released by theoperator and the cam lever and mold members will remain in the moldingposition indicated by solid lines in Figure 2. After the molds have beenbrought together to form the molded article, the lever 23 is pivotedabout the pivot pin 61 to the position indicated in dotted lines and thecam portion 63 of the lever 23 permits the upper mold 9 to move upwardlyby the biasing force of the springs 15. Therefore, as the lever 23 ismoved from the right to the left (Figures 1 and 2) about the pivot 61,the mold members are alternately moved from closed to open position. Thecam lever is provided with a pair of small protruding stops 67 whichrest on the top of the upper mold 9 when the lever is in the position asindicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2. These stops maintain thelevel of the cam lever slightly above the horizontal position so thatthe knob may be grasped more easily.

In Figure 3 the molding toy 5 is indicated with the mold members in openposition with a lump of clay positioned between the mold members. Withthe mold members apart the cam lever 23 is in the position indicated bythe dotted lines in Figure 2. It may be noted that the hub 43 is in itsuppermost position on the spindle 41 and that the enlarged portion 51 ofthe pin 49 is pres-sing against the bottom of the spindle portion 41 sothat the hub 43 may not move upwardly any further. In this position thefingers 45 may one at a time be brought into position between the moldmembers.

In Figure 4 the molding toy 5 is indicated with the mold members inclosed position with an article being molded. The cam lever is now inthe position as indicated by the solid lines in Figure 2. It may benoted from the figure that the hub 43 and the fingers 45 have been moveddownwardly by the force caused by the edge of the upper member 9 bearingdownwardly against the finger 45 which is between the mold members.After the molding operation which is accomplished by closing the moldsto the position shown in Figures 2 and 4, the lever is moved to theposition indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 2, whereupon the moldmembers open and the fingers 45 and hub 43 move upwardly so that themolded article may be brought out from between the molds.

In the operation of the molding toy 5 a lump of molding clay 19 isplaced on one of the fingers 45 and the hub 43 is turned so as toposition the lump of clay between the forming sections 21 of the upperand lower mold members. The fingers 45 may be lubricated by an oil orgrease to facilitate placing the predetermined lump of moldable materialthereon as well as facilitating the removal of the molded articletherefrom; however, a lubricant is ordinarily not necessary. The camlever 23 is then moved so as to bring the mold members together. Whilethe mold members are in the closed position, the child may place a lumpof clay on another finger 45 preparatory to forming another article. Thecam lever 23 is then moved to permit the springs 15 to force the uppermold upwardly and while the molds are in open position the hub 43 may beturned so as to bring the molded article out from between the moldmembers and so as to position the new lump of clay between the moldmembers. The mold members while in the open position, may also berotated about the shaft member 11 to position a new pair of formingsections adjacent the feeding means 17 so that a new figure may beformed. The mold members may again be closed by moving the cam lever tothe position shown by solid lines in Figure 2. While the mold membersare again in closed position, molding a new article, the child mayremove the formed article from the finger by merely sliding the articletherefrom, and a fresh lump of clay may be positioned on the finger 45preparatory to another molding operation. The toy of this invention is,therefore, very simple in operation and its construction renders the toyrugged and durable in use.

Modifications in the construction and/or design of the molding toy ofthe present invention as are within the skill of those versed in theart, are contemplated as being within the scope of the presentinvention.

Various features of the present invention which are believed to be neware Set forth in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A molding toy comprising a base member, a vertical shaft memberattached to said base member and extending upwardly therefrom, a moldrotatably mounted on said shaft member, said mold including asubstantially disc-shaped lower m'old member and a substantiallydiscshaped upper mold member, each of said mold members having aplurality of forming sections therein so that a variety of articles maybe molded by said mold members, said upper mold member being verticallymovable on said shaft upwardly away from said lower mold member to anopen position and downwardly into contact with said lower mold member toa closed position, a rotatable feed means supported on said base memberfor positioning a lump of moldable material between said mold members, aspring biasing means between said mold members for urging said uppermold upwardly, and a cam lever pivotally connected to said shaft memberfor moving said upper mold member downwardly to said closed positionwherein said mold members are together to form said moldable material tothe contour of a forming section.

2. A molding toy comprising a base member, a vertical shaft memberattached to said base member and extending upwardly therefrom, asubstantially disc-shaped lower mold member and a substantiallydisc-shaped upper mold member rotatably mounted on said shaft member,each of said mold members having a plurality of forming sections thereinso that a variety of articles may be molded by said mold members, saidupper mold member being vertically movable on said shaft upwardly awayfrom said lower mold member to an open position wherein said moldmembers are apart and downwardly into contact with said lower moldmember to a closed position, a rotatable feed means supported on saidbase member for positioning a lump of moldable material between saidmold members, said feed means including a stationary spindle on saidbase member and a hub mounted on said spindle so that said hub isrotatable and movable vertically on said spindle, said hub having aplurality of finger portions extending therefrom of a length suificientto reach between said mold members, a spring biasing means between saidmold members for urging said upper mold upwardly to said open positionand a cam lever pivotally connected to said shaft member for moving saidupper mold downwardly to said closed position wherein said mold membersare together to form said moldable material to the contour of a moldingsection, said rotatable mounting of said mold members enabling said moldmembers to be rotated on said shaft members so that any one of thedifferent forming sections in said mold members may be brought to apredetermined position adjacent said rotatable feed means.

3. A molding toy comprising a base member, a mold mounted on said basemember, said mold including a lower mold member and an upper moldmember, each of said mold members having a complementary plurality offorming sections therein so that a variety of articles may be molded bysaid mold members, rotatable means associated with said base member andbeing selectively positionable relative to said mold for locating a lumpof moldable material between a selected pair of said complementaryforming sections, and means connected to said base member for movingsaid mold members together to a closed position wherein said moldablematerial is formed to the contour of said selected pair of complementaryforming sections with which it is in contact.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,651,376 Clark et al. Dec. 6, 1927 1,807,155 Frederick May 26, 19312,183,869 Randall et al. Dec. 19, 1939 2,298,057 Kelm Oct. 6, 19422,642,782 Chapman June 23, 1953 2,733,479 English Feb. 7, 1956 2,775,790Lappin et al. Jan. 1, 1957

